STEM-ming the tide of terror
Learning from the Christmas Day Terror Plot
by Shane Satterley
Ibrahim Abbas, 24 recently gave evidence after a guilty plea for terrorism offences; he was part of a group that planned attacks aimed at Melbourne locations: Federation Square, St Paul’s Cathedral and Flinders Street Station locations in December 2016 — the Christmas Day Terror Plot.
Abbas becomes the latest graduate of engineering involved in terrorism. This is not an anomaly, he joins a growing list of those educated in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields in Australia to feel political violence is the answer. More often than not when we learn of the educational leanings of a jihadist in Australia we find an affinity for STEM.
Progressing to violence
In 2016 critical research was published citing how in both Muslim-majority countries and the West there has been an overrepresentation of Islamists and jihadists that have been educated in the STEM fields. The authors highlight that of those with post-secondary school qualifications, engineers account for 45% of the membership of jihadist groups recruited from among Muslim-majority countries and 59% among Muslims from Western countries.
Furthermore, there is also an over representation and targeting of medical students in and by Islamist and jihadi groups. These data are quite alarming, and contrast with the numbers of graduates from the humanities and social sciences, which are “almost in complete absence”. Even within Islamist organisations that are non-violent it is more likely to see medical doctors, engineers and geologists rather than any graduates of sociology, history and philosophy, although engineers are more likely to make the progression to violence and also far less likely to leave a terrorist group once they joined.
Those of us who study terrorism have traditionally given little thought to education as a factor within radicalisation to extremism or violent extremism as the data we held showed that many were in fact highly educated.
However, less attention has been given to the type of education that terrorists are either drawn to or educated in. These recent data should not be underestimated, as searching for factors of radicalisation and terrorist profiles has tended to turn up very little.
Mitigating extremism
One of the ways Australia attempted to tackle the problems of violent extremism post 9/11was to introduce a National Action Plan which sought to provide a more cohesive pedagogy in relation to Islamic studies within Australia, which had previously been identified as lacking. This led to the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies (NSEIS) which brought together three leading Australian universities who went on to offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Islam and Islamic civilisation.
The National Action Plan was established in response to the recommendations of the Muslim Community Reference Group (Muslim community leaders and youth) which did identify education as a key component in the radicalisation of Australian Muslims. Tackling radicalisation to Islamism or jihadism through this educational lens has obvious merit, however the concern was that the intended audience for these new degrees was not being met due the fact that many of the students enrolled in these courses were non-Muslims. Unfortunately, the more we learn about the education of known Australian jihadis, the intended audience is still not being met.
What is evident is that whilst the courses being taught in the humanities and social science departments in Australia are critical for a sophisticated understanding of Islam, these departments are not where Islamists or jihadists are educated in or drawn to.
Instead jihadists in Australia are far more likely to have studied engineering or some other technical skill if they went on to university or further training which mirrors what we see globally.
The quality Islamic studies courses within Australia should be considered part of the solution of radicalisation to Islamism/jihadism as these courses facilitate critical thought in relation to Islam which places the doctrine of Islam into proper context and highlight a depoliticised interpretation. However, only a small fraction of Australians and Australian Muslims get such an education and for the young Australian interested in STEM in it is entirely possible to earn a degree without having spent any serious time thinking about philosophical concepts related to critical thinking and epistemology — crucial in mitigating extremism.
Of course for the young Australian Muslim interested in STEM the same issue applies. Universities are supposed to foster a critical mind; currently at least in some disciplines globally things seem less than ideal. How can so many educated in the hard sciences come away with significant qualifications whilst at the same time an unscientific worldview? It is possible that those for whom a black and white worldview is appealing are drawn to STEM, (as these disciplines have more fixed and rigid answers to questions) and thus the seeds are already laid, there is evidence for this. However, this then shows how important it is for the STEM fields to adopt some of the teachings from the humanities and social sciences. Should this be seen as a counter radicalisation initiative? Due to what is known about Australian terrorists, the evidence warrants this claim.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SHANE SATTERLEY
Shane Satterley is a PhD Candidate in Griffith University’s School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science.
Shane’s research has focused on radicalisation to Islamism and counter radicalisation programs and policies. His current research focuses on Islamism and jihadism and the link to education along with its implications for Australia.
Shane has a Bachelor of Arts in Security, Terrorism, and Counter Terrorism studies, Masters of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, a Graduate Diploma in Criminological Research Studies and a Master of Arts (Research).
Twitter: Shane Mayhem
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